By Jimmy Andrews
Campbell River Cricket Club (CRCC)’s first (and sadly final) home game of the season took place on the weekend of the 21st September at the Willow Point Park complex in a special intra-club clash.
Much kudos to the City of Campbell River ground staff who put in several days mowing in-between showers giving us an area to work with, on what was a fairly sodden field following the midweek rain. We were able to put the finishing touches the day before the match with the help of a willing crew and an industrial roller.
The roster of 22 players were primarily from CRCC but we were pleased to welcome Cam Thomas all the way from Portland, Oregon, who flew in especially for this season closer. Cam had enjoyed playing in the previous two-day test match at Shawinigan Lake against CRCC in late August so much he flew up again for this match. Ian Niamath also joined us from Arrowsmith Cricket Club in Qualicum Beach.
Captains John Jepson and Aaron O’Shannessy picked what they hoped would be two well-balanced teams for the planned 30 over a side match. Team O’Shannessy opted to bat first with Aadil Dhansay and Guri Baidwan opening the batting, scoring runs at a pretty fast pace that set the team in a good standing early on. Dhansay was the first victim of a soft pitch that saw little bounce and was given out LBW (leg before wicket) from a delivery that stayed low off the bowling of Benjamin “rocket arm” George.
As well as producing some sound bowling, George also attempted a quick run out with a direct hit at the stumps that the great South African Fielder Jonty Rhodes would have been proud of. Not only was the run out a direct hit, George threw the ball with such ferocity that he snapped a wicket in half – the second time he has done it this season. Luckily the wicket was repaired (we had no other choice; we did not have any spares!) and the game continued with Baidwan retiring after a fine knock of 25 and Adam Panziera adding nine quick runs that kept the run rate up.
With the run scoring slowing down and a few more wickets lost, your esteemed writer made it to the crease to try to increase the run rate and get some quick runs on the board. Wanting to channel the great English all-rounder Ben Stokes and make some big slogs, I instead channeled the skill of a tail ender batsman (regarded as the least skilled batters on the team). I irresponsibly charged down the wicket attempting a big cover drive – only to have my middle stump knocked out of the ground by Sparsh Khera for a grand total of zero runs (labelled a ‘duck’ in cricket). Some fine batting from Ravinder Bhatia (25 not out) and Khushwinder Singh (15) got the total up to 123 after 30 overs with it now being Team Jepson’s opportunity to bat.
Team Jepson struggled to get into the groove early and get some runs on the board, with four quick wickets falling for five runs. Opener Eiko Jones was shown little mercy from wicket keeper Khushwinder Singh who punished him for wandering out of his crease that culminated in a stumping whilst fellow opener Joe Myers was unlucky to be out after a fine catch from Adam Panziera. Not only a big hitter of the wickets but also of the bat, Benjamin George entered the crease hitting a quick 13 runs only to be caught by Simon Deller’s spectacular diving catch. Ruwan Heenatigala and Sparsh Khera slowed the fall of wickets down with some conservative shots that were even more impressive on a wicket that was now being chewed up and deliveries staying lower than usual. With John Jepson and Raman Bhatia adding some quick runs, Team Jepson found themselves victims of the deteriorating wicket and were all out for 44.
With the game finishing earlier than expected and no rain in sight, after a pizza break (thanks to the generosity of Aadil Dhansay) it was decided to have a 20 over per team grudge match that was all about fun and not competition (or was it?!). Team O’Shannessy batted first and once again found themselves struggling on a wicket that had taken a lot of punishment throughout the game. Ian Niamath, on loan from Arrowsmith Cricket Club, batted well and displayed some great defensive technique against fast bowlers Sparsh Khera and Sijo Kottayam. Wickets fell like dominoes with batsmen Baidwan achieving the highest score of 14 that saw a total of 67 all out.
Team Jepson entered the field wanting to exact some revenge for the previous game – and did exactly that. Benjamin George and Sijo Kottayam opened the innings and put on a partnership of 30 runs until Kottayam was caught by the acrobatic Simon Deller. Nikhil Raghava displayed some fine batting, even more spectacular when he decided to go it alone without any protective pads or gloves on. Sujith Stephen and Benjamin George put on a closing effort to surpass Team O’Shannessy’s total – not before George tried to ease Stephen’s nerves with some wise cracks at the non-strikers end that had the fielding team in hysterics. Justice was done with Team Jepson taking the win and levelling the scores with a win for each team at the end of the days play.
The attitude, humor and overall goodwill on display throughout the weekend demonstrates a special sporting bond and community that has been created through the resurrection of Campbell River Cricket Club. The future is looking bright with over 40 members on our current mailing list, tentative plans to secure a permanent cricket pitch for next year and an indoor season to commence imminently. The close of play saw smiles and hugs all around that personified the overall spirit of Campbell River Cricket Club.